May 21, 2008
GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH DANNY HALL
Overall thoughts on the game...
"Definitely a wild one, an excellent comeback by my team, and I didn't know it we were ever going to get them out after we took the lead but, it felt like Brad Rulon made a great catch on first which we had had a hard time with all day to get that last out. Definitely a lot of momentum swings. I was just proud of our guys to battle back getting down like we did."
On the play at the plate that resulted in an ejection...
"I think that Randy Harvey got the call exactly right. And you have to slide - that's the rule unless there's unavoidable contact... I felt like the relay by our guys (was a good one) and Hanigan did a great job of holding on to the ball. I thought the umpires did a great job after that."
Coming back in the top of the 9th...and what it says about the characters of his team...
"I think it says a lot and I think (Luke) Murton hit it right on the head in that he said when we got behind we got guys on and we were able to get that leadoff guy on every time we needed him to get on, and we got him on in the ninth, We had a hit-and-run on, and I think Patrick Long did a great job of putting the ball in play. It wasn't an easy play on their second baseman, but he didn't make the play and we ended up at second and third and then were able to get the lead back from there."
LUKE MURTON, JR, DH
Going into the eighth inning down 4 runs...
"You got to get the first guy on. Every at-bat you have to battle. Everybody grounded their bats out, got a lot of good at-bats in a row, which gave us the opportunity to put a lot of runs on the board and take the lead."
JASON HANIGER, JR, C
On the play at the plate that resulted in an ejection...
"I didn't really see anything to be honest. I caught the ball and then I was on the ground...I mean stuff like that happens and I think it was a good thing for us because it boosted our team and our win."
N.C. STATE HEAD COACH ELLIOT AVENT
Overall thoughts on the game...
"I was just very proud of our ball club today. We played with a lot of heart and a lot of character. It sure turned into a funny game that neither Georgia Tech nor N.C. State are used to playing in. It was a 10 o'clock game, and they are kind of unusual in and of themselves. I'm very proud of our ball club, I think Eric (Surkamp) threw a lot of first pitch strikes and had a great breaking ball today. He kept them off stride and used the changeup when he needed and was able to spot the fastball. Overall, he pitched outstanding. It seemed that we were in a game that we always win and some funny things happened down the stretch. I gotta give a lot of credit to Georgia Tech and how hard they battled."
N.C. STATE STUDENT-ATHLETE (ERIC SURKAMP, JR, LHP)
On his performance on the mound...
"The first inning I didn't really have a feel for any of my pitches. I gave up a couple runs in the first and then settled down into a groove. I guess I was in a tough situation every inning by allowing runners to get on base. I just battled through and threw strikes to get ahead of batters and my defense played behind me."
